half grin came back. “Hey, at least I got to wrestle a goat.”
This time her laugh was accompanied by a sense of ease. “To each his own,” she said, although she didn’t for a minute think his answer was silly. Her last real vacation had been spent working at a horse rescue shelter in upstate New York.
“Come on,” she said. “This is the primary stable, used for horses who need special attention. We’ve got plans in the works for a separate quarantine stable, but we don’t have the funds yet. The economy hasn’t helped us with a lot of donations. Although our board chair, Shea Monroe, has been doing wonders in that area. We’ve got several email campaigns running with more planned.”
“It’s Tucker,” he said.
She blinked, stopped walking.
“Not Mr. Brennan.”
“Oh, right.” Annie walked him into the stable proper, making sure to move slowly, talk softly. “The stalls are twelve by twelve. That wall serves as the barrier to the half of the stable we use to house the newcomers. There are four stalls back there. The four in the middle are for those who are hurt, and we keep the nearest four for foaling. They’re really too close to the doors but we don’t have much choice.”
Annie let him take his time looking around the big white structure. Considering it was almost twenty years old, the stable was in good shape. The man who’d originally built Safe Haven had come from Idaho, and he’d worked his tail off to save whatever horses he could.
Tucker walked past the pregnant mares to check out the other horses that were in sick bay. None of them were contagious, just needing special attention.
Levi and Kathy were inside the empty foaling stall next to Glory’s. “Hey,” Kathy said, keeping her voice low and calm.
“How’s she doing?” Annie asked, taking a look at the mommy-to-be. Glory was a sturdy black quarter horse with a blazing white star on her forelock. She was lying down on her nest of fresh straw but her agitation was clear.
“She’s fine,” Kathy said. “We’ve got a bet going on what time her water’ll break. I say ten.”
“I think it’s gonna be midnight,” Levi said. “You gonna call Doc Yardley?”
“He’s supposed to come by later, but everything’s going okay. I can handle it.”
“You know,” Kathy said, “we can stay.”
“No need.” It was Tucker’s voice coming from behind her, and Annie jumped, even though he’d kept the words soft. “I’ll stick around.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Annie said. “I can manage, and you just flew in today. Wrestling goats is exhausting.”
His grin made her want to flip her hair back like a teen at the mall.
“I’d like to stay,” he said. “We used to tell all our most embarrassing stories waiting for the foals. It was fun.”
Annie turned to face him, wincing as she tried to cross her arms over her chest. If she’d had a brain, she would have iced some of the worst bruises before heading out to show off the sanctuary. She really needed to get that aspirin. “We’ve got a ton to go over tomorrow, including that ride across the property you asked for in your email. Besides, I don’t recall telling embarrassing stories being an essential part of foaling.”
His casual wink made her pulse leap. “You just haven’t been to the right stables.”
Kathy and Levi both laughed, but that got Glory struggling to her feet, so all attention went to her. As soon as she was standing, Annie entered the stall to comfort her. She moved slowly, holding up her hands and whispering the same soft nonsense she had since Glory had been brought in. She’d made a point of touching the mare a lot, letting the horse become familiar with her scent and her hands.
The foal was moving and there was no sign of excessive distress. With luck, there would be little to do but observe and clean up after the birth. As she left the stall, everything was quiet except for the familiar sounds of horses. Snorts and breathing, shifting straw, a soft nicker from Cocoa, who was waiting her turn to go into labor.
She walked to the open stable doors, knowing Tucker, Kathy and Levi would follow. As soon as they were far enough away to speak normally, Annie said, “You guys don’t have to stick around. It’s almost six.”
Kathy looked from Annie to Tucker, then back again. “You’re awfully stiff. Did you put something on your bruises?”
“I’m fine, Kathy. Thanks.”
“I brought you that liniment for a reason,” Kathy said. “You’ve got us here for a bit. Go fix yourself up, and stop being a stubborn mule. You might be up all night, for heaven’s sake.”
Annie wanted to shoo her friends on their way, but Kathy was right. The ointment would help. “All right.” She turned to Tucker. “Other than that cut, are you aching anywhere? Kathy makes up her own salve, which works wonders.”
“Nope, I’m fine. But I’ll watch out for Glory if you two want to get home.”
Kathy didn’t even respond to Tucker. Instead, she hustled Annie back to the path toward the cabin, which meant that she wanted to speak to Tucker without Annie hearing.
Resigned to her fate, Annie gave in to the ache in her hip as she headed for the jar of salve. It didn’t help that it was so easy to picture someone else applying the ointment, someone who looked mighty fine without a shirt on.
TUCKER COULD HAVE USED something to ease the minor aches that had cropped up in the past hour, but he was more interested in paying attention to the couple who were about to give him a heartfelt testimonial. He hadn’t gotten this far in business without being able to read people. In fact, that particular skill had been a primary factor in keeping the Rocking B strong through the recession and the drought.
Sure enough, Kathy, who looked tired but determined after the eventful day, approached him the moment she could. “Here’s the part that isn’t obvious, Mr. Brennan.”
That stalled Tucker’s arrogant assumptions in their tracks. An excellent reminder that he wasn’t the only one who could read people.
“That girl,” Kathy said, pointing in the direction Annie had disappeared, “has gone without basics so she could feed the horses. Not that she’d ever say a word. We didn’t know in the beginning. But things started to add up. So some of us decided to bring treats, meals, coffee, because she won’t take a penny for herself. Not a penny. Everything goes to the sanctuary.”
Glory was making some real noise, so they moved inside. Levi turned on the bank of red lights, bathing the space in an eerie kind of beauty, which allowed them to observe but wouldn’t disturb the mare. Her water hadn’t broken, but she was nesting again, rearranging the straw as she prepared for the birth.
“She hardly ever comes to town,” Levi said, his arms crossed over his broad chest, staring at the horse, not Tucker. “When she does, it’s to get supplies or to find help in one form or another. Not for her, mind you, but for the animals.”
“Any idea why?” Tucker asked.
